DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 02/03/2007 Duedate: 02/16/2007
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-227
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
AGASAYA
GODS OF WAR (1446)
(93-8355) [9-1-0,74]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
AGASAYA POSITION IS EMPTY
GODS OF WAR (1446)
(93-8355) [9-1-0,74]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
AGASAYA AGASAYA
GODS OF WAR (1446) GODS OF WAR (1446)
(93-8355) [9-1-0,74] (93-8355) [9-1-0,74]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
GODS OF WAR (1446)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. GODS OF WAR (1446) 40
2. INDIGO CIPHER (1445) 0 GODS OF WAR (1446)
3. LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457) 0 Unchartered Team
4. MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454) -1
MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1 GODS OF WAR (1446) 33 17 2 66.0 1/ 1 GODS OF WAR (1446) 13 2 0
2- 2*INDIGO CIPHER (1445) 24 16 2 60.0 2/ 2*MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454) 8 7 0
3- 4*LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457) 6 4 1 60.0 3- 4*LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457) 3 2 0
4/ 3*MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454) 23 17 1 57.5 4- 3*INDIGO CIPHER (1445) 2 3 1
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
Rhythm and Blues
A Few Thoughts on Rhythm
Every warrior has a favorite rhythm--a favored number for Offensive Effort and
Activity Level. (Note, to the best of my knowledge and belief, there is NO favored
Kill Desire.) This rhythm is set when the warrior is created, and it is revealed to
the manager when the warrior graduates.
I have never been entirely clear as to what, exactly, using the favored rhythm
does for the warrior, but there is a general agreement that it does something,
usually something good. Paces him, perhaps, to get the most fight for the least
endurance burn? Paces him so that he can make the most of his style's specific
strengths and minimize the weaknesses? Something like that, no doubt.
This implies that favored rhythms are linked to style, and that certain ranges
may be specific to style, and I understand that the major number crunchers have
demonstrated this to be so. It further suggests to me that if one knows the range of
favored rhythms for a given style, one may be able to give a warrior of that style a
more effective strategy than one derived simply by guessing and looking at the
warrior's stats and overview.
Wherefore I have pulled out the favorite rhythms by style of the graduated
warriors available for my inspection. You will note that the size of the samples
varies a lot from style to style. This roughly indicates the ease with which I have
been able to keep the different styles alive until graduation, modified by my
personal preferences as to style.
The first letter in a pair indicates favored Offensive Effort, the second favored
Activity Level.
VH=very high H=high M=moderate L=low VL=very low
Distributing the ten numbers available in an even and logical manner, we get:
VH= 10, 9 H= 8,7 M= 6,5 L= 4,3 VL= 2,1
We don't know exactly which number of the pair a given "favorite" is, but this is
close enough.
I'm including the raw data here, despite the fact that it looks very boring,
heck, it is very boring, so that any of you who wish to may study it and make your
own deductions.
Aimed Blows, twenty-two graduated warriors polled as to favorite rhythms:
L/VL L/L VL/L VL/M L/VL M/VL M/L L/VL VL/VL L/M
L/L L/M L/L VL/L VL/M L/VL L/L VL/L L/M M/L
VL/VL L/L
Notice a pattern here? Nothing higher than Moderate, and every pair has at
least one Low or Very Low. In other words, Aimed Blows prefer to be run "scummy."
Or if you're feeling charitable, they like to take their time and make their blows
count, which is natural enough when you consider that accuracy is their strong suit.
Bashers, twenty-five graduated warriors polled.
VH/VL VH/VL VH/VL H/VL H/L H/L H/M H/L M/VL H/VL
VH/VL H/L H/M M/L H/L H/L H/M VH/L VH/VL VH/VL
H/L VH/M H/L H/VL M/L
Again, there's an obvious pattern, but it's a different one. Offensive Effort
no lower than Moderate, Activity Level no higher than Moderate, and often a very
sharp division between the two in any given pair. High Offensive Effort, low
Activity Level. No instances of M/M listed here! Bashers are very direct in their
fighting: attack, attack, attack. No finesse, little dodging.
Lungers, forty graduated warriors polled.
VH/H H/H H/M M/H M/H M/VH L/H VH/M VH/VH H/VH
H/VH M/VH VH/M H/H H/VH M/VH H/VH H/H VH/M M/VH
VH/VH L/VH L/H H/VH M/H M/M M/H M/M H/VH H/H
VH/VH VH/H M/VH L/H M/H H/H H/H VH/M M/M VH/H
Everything but VL is represented in this group. Two out of the forty warriors
have rhythms of M/M. It may be significant that these are both fairly old warriors;
other anomalies have shown up from time to time in very old warriors. Other than
that, every pair contains either H or VH at least once, although there seems to be no
definite preference as to which position it should be in. A slight bias toward
faster OE than AL, but the sample isn't large enough to be sure of that. It's common
to see BOTH numbers H or VH for this style. Lungers like to run fast, and a good
lunger fight has a lot of action--dodging to the side, leaping over or ducking under
a blow, as well as attacking. Of course, that means they tend to burn out fast, too,
so you have to plan for that.
Parry-Lungers, twenty graduated warriors polled.
M/VH M/H L/M H/VH VL/H M/M H/M H/H H/M H/L
M/L H/H L/L H/L M/M H/L L/L H/M VL/L L/VH
Granting that this is a small sample, I see no pattern here. P-lungers vary a
lot from one warrior to the next, and you have to experiment to find the rhythm that
works best for any individual warrior. Some are more lunger, some more parry. In
fact, you could say that the "Offensive Total Parries" and "Defensive Lungers" that
some managers write articles about could be summed up as: Parry-Lunger.
Parry-Ripostes, a mere fourteen graduated warriors polled.
VL/M M/M M/M H/M L/M VL/M L/M L/H M/H L/H
VL/M L/H L/M L/M
Hardly a definitive sample (these are hard to graduate), but there seems to be a
pattern of Offensive Effort no higher than Moderate (okay, one, unless it's a typo),
Activity Level no lower than Moderate. I must admit that I have been known to run
them with an OE of High or Very High when I got tired of having them jumped by
offensive-styled warriors. Some rippers can handle that without flailing or getting
tired, and some can't.
Parry-Strikers, twenty-one polled.
M/VL M/VL VL/M M/M VL/H L/L L/VL VL/L L/L M/L
M/H L/M M/VL L/VL VL/L VL/VL VL/M VL/L L/L VL/L
M/L
I see every range of numbers here but VH, and no obvious pattern. Figures.
Everyone says this style is notional when it comes to how they want to run. A large
sample might show some clear tendency, but from this small group, all I can say is,
they don't seem to like to run very fast.
Slashers, sixty warriors polled. What can I say? I like slashers, and when I was
starting out, I ran a lot of them, many of whom lived to graduate. In some cases,
this was unfortunate, but at the time, it seemed like a good idea....
VH/VL H/L H/VL M/L H/VL H/L M/VL H/L H/VL M/M
M/M VH/VL VH/L H/VL H/VL VH/L H/VL H/L M/VL VH/L
VH/M M/VL H/M M/VL M/VL H/L H/L M/L H/VL VH/VL
VH/VL M/M H/VL M/VL H/VL H/VL VH/L H/L H/L H/VL
M/L M/L H/VL M/M M/L M/L VH/VL VH/L M/VL H/VL
H/VL VH/VL H/VL H/VL VH/L H/VL M/L H/VL VH/VL
Now that we're back among the pure offensive styles, a pattern emerges again.
No Offensive Effort lower than Moderate, no Activity Level higher than Moderate.
Within those limits, anything goes--from Moderate/Moderate to Very High/Very Low.
Slashers like to run hard, they don't like to stand around and scum their opponents,
but they'll accept a modestly cautious approach if it's called for. Pay attention to
the details in your warrior's fight. If he starts getting tired early on, you
probably need to lower his Offensive Effort some. If he never gets the first blow
and loses continually because of that, raise Offensive Effort.
Strikers, sixty-three polled. (shrug) When in doubt, make it a striker....
VL/M L/L L/L H/VL M/H M/L L/M L/L L/VL M/L
M/VL M/L H/VL H/L M/L M/VL M/L M/H L/VL M/M
L/M L/VL M/VL L/VL L/VL M/L L/VL VL/L H/L M/H
M/H H/VL VL/L H/VL M/VL VL/L H/VL M/VL M/VL VL/VL
M/VL L/H H/L M/VL H/VL M/M L/VL M/L M/L M/L
H/M M/L L/M VL/M M/VL M/L M/M L/L M/VL M/L
H/VL H/H M/L
Neither Offensive Effort nor Activity Level of Very High appears, but that
leaves a lot of possible combinations (okay, only sixteen, but that seems like a lot
when you're writing an article late at night), and most of them seem to show up on
this list. Strikers, like P-Strikers, need tinkering.
Total Parries, twenty-nine warriors polled.
VL/M VL/L M/VL VL/VL L/L VL/VL VL/M VL/VL L/M VL/L
VL/M L/M L/H M/M M/VL VL/VL VL/L VL/VL L/L VL/VL
VL/L L/L VL/L L/L VL/L L/VL VL/L VL/L VL/L
No Offensive Effort higher than Moderate, no Activity Level except one higher
than Moderate. This is what you'd expect, right? Total Parries conserve their
energy. While you can run them faster, they aren't going to like it. And if they
don't like it, they aren't going to perform really well.
Walls of Steel, thirty-five polled.
M/VL L/L L/VL M/L M/M L/VL H/VL L/VL M/VL VH/M
M/L L/M H/VL H/M L/L L/L M/L M/L M/VL M/L
M/L H/L VH/VL H/L M/L L/M H/M M/M M/M H/L
M/VL VH/M H/L M/VL H/M
No Offensive Effort of Very Low, no Activity Level higher than Moderate. Some
people call this style the "parry-slash," others say it's a prime candidate for
running like a berserker. Otherwise, a lot of variation. Some are scummy (L/VL) and
some are slice-and-dice machines (VH/M). Too bad you can't tell right off which
you've got, eh? This style needs attention and experimenation for best results.
Now that you've plowed through all the tedious stuff (at least, it was tedious
for me to organize the data, hope it was less so for you to look at it), I'll offer a
word of advice to new players. Make all or most of your first warriors of the styles
that have clear patterns. Bashers and slashers are the easiest to do well with right
off the bat. Lungers and strikers are a little trickier, but not much. The others
are a lot trickier. Winning right off with your first attempts at those styles--
especially once you're out of Noblish Island and into the cold, cruel mainland, is
unlikely. However, the study and struggle needed to master one of the trickier
styles is amply rewarded by the rush of guiding one to a winning record, a
duelmastership, and graduation.
Jorja
The Middle Way
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #9 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
The question, turn 420:
All -- I was noticing the skill modifiers for low to high size; do these negatives
keep a warrior from being successful at the high end of the game? -- Hanibal --
Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 421:
Q.O.W. (size) -- Smaller size has always had an advantage in the upper levels of the
game, especially at the top of Primus and Gateway. The bonus to defense and parry
offsets the initiative loss and the damage taking and dealing that a large size
provides. Of course, large size comes with its own defense penalty. A high defense
is critical in the upper levels where it is imperative not to get hit. If you are
unhittable, it comes down to an endurance contest. However, huge warriors,
especially those gifted in defense can make devastating opponents on their road to
the top. They are tough and dish out more than all the little pip squeaks ever
could. It's much easier to get a great warrior out of a smaller size than out of a
larger size of course, due to stat distribution to the other critical areas like WT,
WL and DF, so finding a great huge warrior is difficult. My best is Khazakh who is
in 105 right now. He's gifted in defense and endurance, and he's devastating in the
arena. But some day, near the very top, his size will probably be a hindrance unless
his attack is absolutely crazy and he can hit the little guys. -- Adie
Q.O.W. (answer) -- It depends greatly on what you define as the top of the game.
Certainly any sized warrior can be effective at the top of a basic arena or any AD
arena. By the time you're talking Primus or Gateway it's mainly a matter of whether
or not your team can muster enough warriors to win magical prizes to enhance you,
those without them must be truly gifted indeed. -- Maxwell Honorblade
Q.O.W. -- Do the small size skill negatives prevent success in the top end game? --
Certainly not! While the negatives are there, remember that small size allows more
"points" elsewhere, easily making up the skills. The smaller warriors are *often*
the leaders at the top end. There are also TC-winning ways to modify warriors, and
this past FTF prize is "very expensive" for this very purpose. -- Kennelworth
QoW -- I don't participate at the Primus/Gateway level of play, but the word is that
ability to deal a powerful blow remains important and thus allows the large warriors
(read: lungers) to remain competitive with their smaller peers. What I do know is
that my sz 3 Lunger that's +4 in defense will have, when completely maxxed out in
both skills and stats, the highest number of naturally attainable defense skills in
the game. Unfortunately, she'll only do tremendous if she's lucky. -- Generalissimo
Puerco
QOW -- My limited experience in the high end of the game (I have one whole Gateway
warrior...WHOO!) the most important skills are, in order: attack, defense, and
initiative. So while it isn't good to lose defense, init is a valuable asset as well
(helps keep the momentum). Another aspect in the end game is the damage rating,
which size does help and can make a LOT of difference. But since it is better to
have a 21 wit than a 21 size, I would say that in general over 11 size is unwanted.
-- Anti
The questions this time were in regard to the Style-vs-Style chart and how to run a
parry-riposte.
Parry-Riposte: How to run them? Hmm... well, I've only run three so far, but I
think I've seen a lot of what they can and can't do. From my experience, if their
parry is decent, they can take a couple good hits, and carry decent, give them heavy
armor and run parry tactic (very helpful with their low parry bases), but at maybe 4-
5-5, or faster at 5-3-5. The parry tactic augments their defense, but they'll still
try to riposte since they have so much of it. For those who are more frail, can't
carry much, and have decent defense, I go in lighter armor and run maybe 3-6-4 (I've
never run dodge tactic here, but I'd try). My first ripper to AD had a 7 ST, did
normal damage, and she ran in ALE/L running with moderate activity. She graduated 16-
6. Of course, she's also +5 in att, +2 in par. But she still defends much better
than she parries in that light armor. -- Adie
P.S. As for early in the career, scumming is handy, but put OE up just a bit so
they'll swing if given the opportunity. Armor for sure to keep them alive unless
you're bold.
Leeta -- I've seen that chart too, but I have no idea if it was based off of a large
number of fights. I think those numbers for strikers reflects their great ability to
throw those crits early in the career, and to be quick to the first hit. For parry-
strikers, I think it merely reflects the variability in how they can be run and
designed. The chart of course is based on gross stereo-typing of the styles. I
wouldn't use it too much even as a beginner. -- Adie
Leeta -- I think that "chance to win by style" chart is silly. Doesn't it say that
lungers will almost always beat aimers? My aimers tend to do pretty well against
lungers, how about yours? -- Generalissimo Puerco
Leeta and ALL others -- While I have not seen this chart, I can't help but say that
it is probably not very accurate. Too many things factor into a match-up of two
warriors to expect style to <cut off by Hal, unfortunately>
On thinking it over in the light of the past month's fights, I have a feeling
that the chart is probably rather old, and that recent advances in management
technique have drastically undermined its usefulness in most instances. Discounting
luck (which one should never do, of course), and all other things being more or less
equal, the best manager is more likely to win, rather than the one whose warrior has
the favored style. (Now, there's an inflamatory statement!) Probably that
overstates the case, but I think managerial skill is now a significant factor,
anyway, even if it isn't decisive. -- Jorja
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Well, where do I start? I never expected to write a DM column because of all the
great competition that is in this arena. Ironic that I am writing this after
fighting a standby. I thought it was going to be Xian and me but he chose honor over
title. Sorry it was for not, Xian. I never believed I was the best even on my own
team, but for a least one turn I am the best of all in Noblish. My only regret is
that I will not be able to fight anyone from Jorja's team. Her team would only help
to strengthen me and my stable mates, but unfortunately this is our last turn. My
manager, Sovereign, has informed us that we will be traveling to Lapur after this
last round. I wish to thank everyone in the arena who helped to make this an
enjoyable run. Good luck to all.
Agasaya
SPY REPORT
Busy, busy, busy, lots of things happening in NOBLISH ISLAND this turn, and
let's start with a look at some of the teams. And let's see, MENTU fought VERELLE
WIST and gained 9 points and contributed to GODS OF WAR's 5-0-0. PARLEN QUIR has
lost to MORRIGAN, falling 5 points, while helping make MIDDLE WAY 16 a 2-3-0 turn.
Defending hers title for another turn, AGASAYA kept NOBLISH ISLAND's warrior, KUNG-FU
MASTER, from claiming the throne. Can someone confirm a rumor for me? I hear the
top team makes their losing fighters do dishes at The Dripping Blade until they win.
Maybe?
He who challenges well, fights well. He who avoids without cause, shall lose
for good reasons. My mama told me that one.
We only live a short time in this world, so why not take a sharp blade, and
shave it close? Is it really true that NOBLISH ISLAND has more dishwashers per
capita that fighters? Just thought I'd ask...
Thought for the day, a new sword shines bright, but the notched sword sings the
sweetest. Well, I'm burning daylight here in NOBLISH ISLAND and I've a long road
ahead of me. Happy Trails. Until you see my quill in NOBLISH ISLAND again,
farewell-- Alarond the Scribe
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
AGASAYA 8355 9 1 0 74 GODS OF WAR (1446)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MORRIGAN 8382 7 2 0 56 GODS OF WAR (1446)
ENYALIUS 8425 5 1 0 43 GODS OF WAR (1446)
CAMULUS 8358 5 5 1 41 GODS OF WAR (1446)
-XIAN THE BLACK 8353 8 1 1 40 INDIGO CIPHER (1445)
MENTU 8354 6 4 1 40 GODS OF WAR (1446)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
VERELLE WIST 8412 5 3 0 28 MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454)
PARLEN QUIR 8409 4 4 1 28 MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454)
-NAVANNA 8407 3 1 0 27 INDIGO CIPHER (1445)
-LADY OF THE LAKE 8427 2 0 1 26 LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457)
YAREON ZED 8413 5 3 0 24 MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-TARA FIREFIST 8447 1 0 1 21 INDIGO CIPHER (1445)
ROEKFORT SIMS 8410 5 3 0 19 MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454)
TILLISE ULAM 8411 4 4 0 16 MIDDLE WAY 16 (1454)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-SHEVA CALLISTER 8408 2 2 0 16 INDIGO CIPHER (1445)
-MURDERMAW 8448 1 0 0 16 INDIGO CIPHER (1445)
-FOAWR 8428 1 1 0 15 LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457)
-ANKOU 8429 2 0 0 11 LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457)
-XANUS 8426 1 1 0 11 LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457)
-BEAN SI 8430 0 2 0 2 LADY ROSE FAERYS (1457)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
URTHON AEDAR 8386 2 2 0 INDIGO CIPHER 1445 PARLEN QUIR 8409 224
PERSONAL ADS
Tillise -- That was easier than I thought. Maybe I should have tried that strategy
eight turns ago. I may have had a better record if I did. -- Camulus
Dangerous Criminal -- Ten seconds, one hit, three skills and a title. Not too bad.
Thanks. -- Agasaya
Roekfort -- I think I hit you everywhere but where I was aiming. If it's any
consolation, I think you would have had me in another minute. -- Mentu
Navanna -- Good try. -- Morrigan
Sheva -- I hate winning that way. You were definitely the better of the two, but a
win is a win. -- Enyalius
We at the Gods of War wish to thank everyone in Noblish Island for an incredible
time. We have learned much in our short stay here and we have grown as a team and I
have grown as a manager. It has been a very long time since I have lead a team onto
the sands but I must say that I have learned more about this game in the ten turns I
was here over the year I played in Caer some twenty years ago. For that reason, I
would like to thank Jorja. Your advice and everything you have provided for us in
the newsletter has helped me to understand the game better. IF there were more
people like you, Jorja, around then, I may have never left the game. Best of luck to
everyone in the future and I hope to see some of you again one day. -- Sovereign,
mgr. of the Gods
Xian the Black -- Sorry about that. But, hmm, let's take a look at this fight.
Start with three clashes, that's good, we're both striving mightily for the first
blow (that counts), as is appropriate for our styles. You did some good parrying at
the beginning...hmm. Ah, when you went desperate, you seemed to lose it. Do you
have a separate desperation strategy? If so, maybe it needs adjustment. If not,
maybe you need one? -- Parlen Quir
Camulus -- Ouch! You obviously have lots of, I don't know, initiative?
Decisiveness? Whatever, and you used to (wincing) excellent purpose. -- Tillise Ulam
P.S. Rotten aim, though.
Mentu -- Well, that was the pits, and I can see that it's all Jorja's fault. Not
because she persuaded me to sign up in the first place, although that IS a factor,
but, cheese loueese, you never gave me a chance to get set! -- Roekfort Sims
P.S. That "staggering with exhaustion" at the end of the first minute? That's
dangerous. Either end your fights faster, or run slower. I've heard of people
dying, actually DYING, because they ran out of energy before the end of the first
minute and their opponent was able to take advantage of it, through skill, good
strategy, or simply superior physicals. *I* couldn't do anything about it, but that
is, again, Jorja's fault. She needs to tinker my strategy, but will she? As if!
Cult Member? Pooh. It was obviously a non-violent cult. -- Verelle Wist
Beggars are worthless. They don't teach worth spit. -- Yareon Zed the Disgusted
Orellon Silvercloak -- We never avoid a bloodfeud. But you do need to learn to
accept death in the arena. It happens. Sometimes it happens a lot. Sometimes the
other manager was deliberately seeking it, more often it was chance and bad luck.
Pay attention to things like weapon choice! Referring back to my comments on that
fight--I don't save the fights, so I can't refer back to the actual report--it looks
like you had a weapon unsuited to the warrior's style and for which he lacked the
stats. There are charts for this, do not trust your intuition and "what seems
right." The program that runs the fights takes no account of "what seems right."
Checking back through the newsletters (I hope you're saving them, they constitute a
handbook of advice and commentary that is supposed to be useful to a new player), I
see that you were listed on turn 219, the last time the weapons/styles/stats chart
ran. The chart is on the last page of the newsletter. Use it. -- Jorja, the Middle
Way
P.S. And expect death. It happens. Over and over again. Often to warriors on
which much attention and hope have been lavished. There is NO way to absolutely
prevent this risk, except not to play.
P.P.S. Where are you headed when you matriculate? The odds are about three to one
that I'm there.
24 January 2007
The Council of Lords would like to propose a rule change in ADM and Primus. We
propose that Lord Protectors ranked "Grand Champions" and below (ADM) and "The Tower
Guard" and below (Primus) be allowed to fight in the Dark Arena. This would not
impact the top rankings or title match. Any managers who never got his fill or shot
at fighting Gateway monsters would have it as an option. We believe it might spark
some interest in the ADM/Primus realm for some managers. If interested, speak up in
the newsletters or on forums under the "rules changes" thread and let RSI know. This
could even be something to try for 12 months and then be re-evaluated. What say you,
managers of Ghea? -- The Icelord sends....
29 January 2007
HDFA Mission Statement
"Show me the money!"
This is the battle cry of a newly formed collection of like-minded individuals:
The High Dolla' Free Agent$. We are not a tough guy alliance: No...we offer no
battle without reward. We search for victory and the prizes and accolades that
follow. We are motivated by winning and will freely use whatever means necessary to
obtain our currency. No stuffy rules, no mandates, no constitutions, no leaders,
only a few objectives:
1) Win as often as possible
2) Celebrate freely and revel in your victories; the more meaningless the
victory the more we celebrate. Highsiding and chest thumping are encouraged.
Ostentatious endzone celebrations with prop usage are encouraged, regardless of
fines, penalties, suspensions or arrest by local authorities. It is important to let
your opponent know how great you are; more importantly, you must let your own
alliance mates know how great you are.
This is a 1-up alliance, let the performance of your fellow Free Agent$ motivate
you. If a Free Agent wins a TV, win 2; if a Free agent wins a contest, win a more
prestigious one.
Current members of the HDFA include: CFH and Abraxis. Inquires can be directed
to: CFH/Rat Salad DM 47
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
AGASAYA slimly won victory over KUNG-FU MASTER in a 2 minute Title fight.
MORRIGAN devastated PARLEN QUIR in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
ENYALIUS overcame AMBITIOUS GUARD in a 1 minute match.
CAMULUS overpowered TILLISE ULAM in a 1 minute mismatched duel.
VERELLE WIST was viciously subdued by MENTU in a popular 1 minute brutal fight.
YAREON ZED devastated MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute uneven brawl.
ROEKFORT SIMS defeated CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute struggle.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK 2 TOTAL PARRY 21 - 12 - 0 64 |
|BASHING ATTACK 2 AIMED BLOW 14 - 9 - 1 61 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 STRIKING ATTACK 20 - 14 - 1 59 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 WALL OF STEEL 16 - 12 - 0 57 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 BASHING ATTACK 23 - 18 - 2 56 |
|AIMED BLOW 0 SLASHING ATTACK 18 - 19 - 0 49 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 LUNGING ATTACK 30 - 36 - 2 45 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 0 PARRY-STRIKE 8 - 10 - 1 44 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 3 - 6 - 0 33 |
|TOTAL PARRY 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 14 - 0 22 |
Turn 227 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 0 3 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 2 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 3 WALL OF STEEL
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 0 2 LUNGING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 STRIKING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 1 TOTAL PARRY 0 - 0 1 SLASHING ATTACK
1 PARRY-STRIKE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK AGASAYA 8355 9 1 0 74 GODS OF WAR (1446)
BASHING ATTACK MORRIGAN 8382 7 2 0 56 GODS OF WAR (1446)
WALL OF STEEL ENYALIUS 8425 5 1 0 43 GODS OF WAR (1446)
LUNGING ATTACK MENTU 8354 6 4 1 40 GODS OF WAR (1446)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is AGASAYA 8355. The most popular warrior this turn
was AGASAYA 8355. The ten other most popular fighters were MENTU 8354, CAMULUS 8358,
MORRIGAN 8382, ENYALIUS 8425, ROEKFORT SIMS 8410, YAREON ZED 8413, PARLEN QUIR 8409,
TILLISE ULAM 8411, VERELLE WIST 8412, and 0.
The least popular fighter this week was VERELLE WIST 8412. The other ten least
popular fighters were TILLISE ULAM 8411, PARLEN QUIR 8409, YAREON ZED 8413, ROEKFORT
SIMS 8410, ENYALIUS 8425, MORRIGAN 8382, CAMULUS 8358, MENTU 8354, AGASAYA 8355, and
0.
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A NOTE ON MAILMEN
In response to the articles on new fighting styles, those were good, but how can
you forget our most favorite warrior who has a style all his own? The Mailman! To
Duelmasters he is our most sacred person. I mean, how many of you managers out their
have sat down and calculated what day your Duelmasters will arrive and have sat
waiting for it to arrive, while unknown to you, your mailman is fighting away to get
your Duelmasters delivered. Let's review him...
ST - should be around 19. He needs to heft two medium bags, cloth mail armor and
a ton of rubber bands.
CN - 13, give or take a few. He does get bitten by dogs often.
SZ - Any.
WT - At least 10. He often likes to read the mail.
WL - Try about 20. He must endure all kinds of weather.
SP - 16 is good. He needs to run across streets in traffic.
DF - 10 is good. Sometimes he has to carry packages.
This setup should get you a good mailman but they are hard to come by. If you
can come up with any better, diplo me. I am:
Staple Gun
mgr. of Technet (3)
The New Deal (23)
I am currently working on the U.P.S. and Federal Express warriors.
"Strikers R Us"
Greetings, everyone. It is I, Talon, again. I am very glad to see everyone
participating in the arena and sharing their thoughts on styles and strategies. This
turn I will take on the striking attack style, which is certainly one of my favorites.
I believe the striker is one of the easiest styles to run, and one in which no
team should be without. A high-powered striker can diversify and empower your team.
A well run striker can beat any other style, period, at any level in regular
Duelmasters. In arenas where scum TPs are rampant, strikers are just the answer as
they can attack for up to 12 minutes or more. Strikers are versatile. They can do
exceptionally well with a dagger as a weapon or with a halberd. They can do well with
no armor or with plate armor.
Stats:
Biff Primal Solid Perfect
ST 5-21 9-17 13 15
CN 3+ 3+ 6 3
SZ 9-21 3-17 9 5
WT 3-17 17 + 17 21
WL 9-17 13 + 17 15
SP 5+ 5-13 9 8
DF 9+ 9-17 13 17
With the way I design strikers, there are essentially two strikers that evolve.
The BIFF and the PRIMAL. The Biff striker is typically one that is not looking long-
term, but one which I want to run and have fun with. With this striker, I try to have
one stat (wit, will, or deftness) which is extraordinary, one which is average, and
the other ends up being at some non-normal level. Some examples of the Biff are: 10-
10-11-4-17-17-15, 7-11-17-17-11-6-15, 9-5-14-17-11-13-15, 4-8-17-15-13-10-17, and 21-
3-15-21-5-8-11. With these warriors, the emphasis is on having fun and learning more
about the style.
The Primal is essentially a Primus-quality warrior. In this category, the
striker will be designed with stats that most other managers will gasp, "OH MY, WHY
DID YOU MAKE HIM A STRIKER?" It is also the warrior that will be Duelmaster for 8
straight turns and will go to ADM with a 16-4-2 record, with 4 Masters and an Ad Ex.
The key here is to create a warrior with AT LEAST a 17 wit and 15 deftness, along with
a 13+ will and who will do normal damage or better. The goal with the Primal is a 21
wit and 17 deftness, because this will ensure a great warrior.
Weapons and Armor: As for weapons, the best striking weapons that I have found
and used are the dagger, epee, scimitar, broadsword, quarterstaff, greatsword,
longsword, war hammer, and sometimes the short spear. I don't run my strikers with
shields or off-hand weapons, as it takes away from their attack. The heaviest armor I
will use is padded leather. Always wear a steel cap or a helm.
Strategy (general):
Min. 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Desp
OE 10 8 6 6 6 5 5
AL 10 5 4 2 2 1 8
KD 6 8 6 6 6 5 5
attack arms/legs/head -- take your pick
protect arms/legs/head -- take your pick
off tactic decise, slash, bash, depending on weapon
def tactic response is best; try dodge though.
With this strategy, a striker with a normal endurance should fight for eight
minutes as a scum TP and come out on top, outrageously victorious. Just match your
weapon with your tactic and only use the tactics in minute one or desperation.
If you have any further questions on this or any other style, feel free to diplo
me.
Talon, mgr. Eagle's Claw
HOW I MADE DUELMASTER IN THREE EASY STEPS
OR
a new look for Aimed Blows
Greetings and salutations, all. Here's a new twist on aimed blows I haven't seen
before....one that works, at least for me! Here's what I did with Rex Walters, my
first Duelmaster in the Free Blades transfer arena, DM 70.
ST: 17 (for good damage, attack and parry skills)
CN: 13 (gonna need every hit point he can get)
SZ: 4 (smaller the better!)
WT: 4 (overrated for aimed blows!)
WL: 21 (if ya try this method, 17 is a MINIMUM)
SP: 4 (ya want NO speed, none, nothing, zero!)
DF: 21 (better max this one out too, at least a 19)
You laugh at me? I started expert in both attack and parry! (OK, so I got lucky,
I didn't expect either one of em.) But both are in reach with a little luck. Hey, if
ya can get that strength to 21 you're almost guaranteed those experts... though a bit
more CON would be nice.
But how do I RUN this monstrosity, you may ask? Why, I'm glad you inquired!
LOTS of armor. The hit points combined with, say, platemail should win this character
a lot of fights. But, while I've picked up a few easy wins scumming, that's not
really what this character does best.
I use the only weapon Rex is well suited to: the bare hand. With an offhand
small shield or shortsword, so I can take advantage of that expert parry rating. So:
FI-SH, APM-H.
And I run him at a 4 offensive effort, with a matching 4 activity level. He can
last through the initial onslaught of nearly any offensive, then smash them.... like a
good waste. And with that monster endurance and good damage, no one scums this
warrior!
I attack and protect the head, usually, and keep the kill desire high... 5-7
generally. Now, how to become Duelmaster?
Well, step one is fight your first fight... and train your CON. Step two, now
that you're in the arena, is get a fight with an up-and-coming young warrior from the
Duelmaster's team... and kill them. (I randomly matched up with, and killed, a member
of the incoming Duelmaster's team...luck helps, ya know.) Offensives that wear
themselves out but haven't quite dropped are the easiest to kill.
Then, when the Duelmaster comes at you (bragging about how he "only" needs to
beat you twice to assure his ascension to the Isle) you stomp him. Badly. Once
you're on that lofty throne he won't even be able to bloodfeud you, since you can bet
he's not gonna be anywhere near the challenger champions after losing to a 2-fight
warrior (just ask Ciron of ENDS WITH IRON, now in AD).
There are drawbacks, of course. Once you get to that level, odds are you're
gonna get stomped like a stuck pig (I was most challenged 2 turns in a row after this
trick... Oo! I love mixed metaphors...) But... even a 4 wit warrior can learn skills
against gladiators with 50 fights!
Rex is now 7-3-1. All three losses have come against warriors now in AD. In
those ten matches, he's trained his strength and constitution once each, and learned
twenty skills, including his adex in both parry and attack. And boy, is it fun
humiliating some of those "gods" bound for AD!
What else can one do with this warrior? Well, Rex is, get this, well suited to
an off-hand epee! He wouldn't dare use one as a primary weapon, but its a great off-
hand toy...
Does he have what it takes to be a long-term winner? Who knows? He's probably
the DUMBEST aimed blow to ever make Duelmaster... He's in the Challenger Champions and
climbing....and he'll meet ya in AD!
Amazingly enough, this is not an isolated fluke. We entered a similar warrior
into Bloodgames (with the 4's as 3's, and a bit more CON). That warrior, Jalon, is
now in AD after going 9-1-5 and finishing on TOP of his Bloodgames arena.
Ah, just thought I'd mention I have had a second bare-handed Duelmaster, now...
Seeker Still Water in DM 74 is an open-hand lunger, Duelmaster at 8-1... but that's
another story...
--Khyron
mgr., Pitt Gladiators (2,29,56,103)
Jayhawks (70)
Silent Storm (65,74,75)
and numerous others....
THE WALL OF STEEL AS A BERSERKER
This article is for newer players; more experienced managers will, I'm sure, have
much more sophisticated ideas about warrior design and strategy. This will enable a
newbie to design a competent warrior who should be able to achieve a better than 50/50
record.
The wall of steel, or "waste," is often considered the second scummiest style in
Duelmasters. I love the style, but I don't run mine that way; I prefer to think of
the waste as a fierce dervish ripping into his opponent like an airplane propeller.
In accordance with this view, most walls of steel that I design couldn't scum if they
wanted to (well all right, sometimes it happens by accident if the opposing warrior is
going all-out and can't last very long). It's fun to run them fast; they get the jump
on people who don't expect it of them, and their fights are exciting. Mind you, they
don't win as much as if they ran more defensively, but the ones with good stats still
do okay (I'll make practically anything a waste and run it, but this article isn't
about the ones that a sane manager would DA).
So, here is a design for a competent wall of steel:
ST 13+ Needed for endurance, damage doing, and weapon selection.
CN 9+ You need a passably good con for endurance.
SZ 7+ Teeny weenie wastes don't hit hard enough or take enough damage. Real big
(15+) is bad because it hurts endurance.
WT 13+ Preferably 17. Like any other style, the smarter they are, the better.
WL 17+ Needed for endurance, damage-taking, and sheer grit. 21 is recommended.
SP 3+ Whatever.
DF 7+ Higher deftness is better, but you can get by without it.
As you can see, these are fairly easy requirements. Of course, the more wit,
will, and deftness, the better your waste will be (same as any other style). If you
don't end up with at least good endurance on the overview, the warrior probably isn't
going to do very well. With that high will, though, you can bump con a couple of
times and you might get good endurance, so there's still a chance.
Choose your weapons based on deftness, and your opponent's armor weight. I
normally use something like 0-8 SC, 9-12 BS, 13+ GA, backup SC or BS. No shield.
Some other good weapons for the waste are QS (only takes 11 ST, and can hit heavy
armor), MS, and BA. The war flail isn't a very good weapon, but you can play with it
against leather armor. For armor, I usually choose something middling like ARM & H,
but will go with APL & H if he has a lot of con.
For strategy--I heard a rumor (NOT confirmed) that a wall of steel gets a bonus
if his OE equals his KD. Since I don't like to use a kill desire above 6, I don't go
by that in the first couple of minutes. Keep the activity level moderate to low; the
waste doesn't need to jump around a lot and the way he keeps his weapon moving, he's
burning a lot of endurance without that added drain. Attack and defend the arms, like
a slasher; a waste is a sort of parry-slasher. A typical strategy for my wastes might
look like this:
Minute 1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
Offensive 9 8 7 6 5 5 2
Activity 6 5 4 3 2 1 6
Kill des. 6 6 6 6 5 5 2
Att. loc. RA LA RA LA RA LA RA
Pro. loc. AM AM AM AM AM AM HE
Off tac. none -- -- -- -- -- --
Def tac. -- -- -- -- -- -- P
I play with the numbers a lot, depending on what the warrior seems to like. For
example, if he doesn't parry too well, I'll give him a more offensive desperation
strategy, like 8-4-8-slash. (If I really like a warrior I sometimes use a 7+ KD to
try and save his life.) If he never manages to get the jump on anybody, I'll try
running him more defensively, like with a first minute of 3-6-3. It's not as much fun
as going all out, but it's more fun than losing all the time.
You can challenge pretty much any style (lungers aren't recommended). When
fighting a warrior you know to be very defensive (a TP, or a scummy variety of PS, PR,
PL, or WS), slow down or you will be scummed. For the most part, though, an offensive
waste is very versatile and can beat any style. The better his important qualities
are (WT, WL, DF, endurance), the better the quality of warriors he can defeat. In
other words, if you have a so-so rollup that barely made the minimum requirements,
challenge so-so opponents. If you have a good rollup, go for the gold. Challenge
warriors with a few more fights than you, so you'll learn plenty of skills--but don't
challenge way way up in experience, because it's no fun to lose a good warrior.
For the most part, train skills--especially on your challenge strategy, when
you're going after someone with more fights! And for sure on the first fight, because
you'll likely be matched against someone who can teach you a lot. It's okay to train
con once in a while if you need more endurance and damage-taking; and if you have bad
luck on the rollup and get "does little damage" or something, you might have to train
strength once or twice (no more!). But it's best not to train any other stats until
way, way down the road.
Ask your DM sponsor or any experienced manager in your arena for more advice (if
they tell you I'm full of hot air, they're probably right). A little bit of good
advice from a more advanced player can make a big difference in your enjoyment of the
game!
If you have any questions or suggestions, you can diplo: the She-Puppy, mgr.
Mordant Prison DM-1, and others.